This is a 15-day unit of inquiry-based lessons about the surface features of the Moon and the Earth and how these two worlds formed and continue to evolve. Students participate in real science as they help lunar scientists map the surface of the...(View More) Moon with MoonMappers, an online citizen science project that lets the public analyze real data from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. The lessons in this unit follow the 5E instructional model. Includes an overview of citizen science, glossary of lunar feature vocabulary, alignment to NGSS and NSES, and featured links.(View Less)

This is a lesson about using analogues to look for life on other planets. Learners will use the results of previous lessons to write a scientific proposal to explore another planet or moon in our solar system for signs of life. This proposal should...(View More) predict the types of energy and nutrients available to sustain life and describe equipment and instruments necessary for exploration and characterization of the target environment. This is activity 4, the capstone activity, in Exploring Deep-Subsurface Life. Earth Analogues for Possible Life on Mars: Lessons and Activities.(View Less)

This is a activity about applying the scientific method to a design challenge. Learners will design and build a platform that will be placed on a heat source. The platform is expected to serve as an insulator for a cube of gelatin. The goal is to...(View More) keep the inside temperature of the gelatin cube as cool as possible. Materials cost will vary, depending on materials chosen by group (within budget set by the teacher). Ties are made to the Mercury MESSENGER mission. Note: the student guide starts on p. 17 of the PDF.(View Less)

This is an activity about how we measure the brightness of stars in the night sky. Learners will use interpolation to determine brightness, then observe the brightness of Delta Cephei over the course of two weeks, and plot their observations as a...(View More) light curve. This is activity G-7 of Universe at Your Fingertips 2.0: A Collection of Activities and Resources for Teaching Astronomy DVD-ROM, which is available for purchase.(View Less)

This is an activity about lunar and terrestrial stratigraphy. Learners will design a development on the Moon that is suitable, feasible, and beneficial and present proposals for developments on the Moon in a competition for approval from a...(View More) student-staffed Lunar Council. This activity is in Unit 3 of the "Exploring the Moon" teachers guide, which is designed for use especially, but not exclusively, with the Lunar Sample Disk program.(View Less)

This is an activity about the conditions for a sustainable biosphere. Learners will build a biosphere that is a balanced, self-enclosed living system able to run efficiently over a long period of time. This activity is in Unit 3 of the Exploring the...(View More) Moon teachers guide, which is designed for use especially, but not exclusively, with the Lunar Sample Disk program.(View Less)

This is an activity about observation. Learners will first observe a first quarter Moon and as a group, predict which phase the Moon will be in during the next observation. After this, learners will continue to chart the progress of the lunar cycle...(View More) of phases throughout the following weeks to better understand the sequence. This is Activity A-2 of Universe at Your Fingertips 2.0: A Collection of Activities and Resources for Teaching Astronomy DVD-ROM, which is available for purchase.(View Less)

Learners will first observe a first quarter Moon and as a group, predict which phase the Moon will be in during the next observation. They then continue to chart the progress of the lunar cycle of phases throughout the following weeks to better...(View More) understand the sequence. This is Actividad 1.2 as part of El Universo a Sus Pies, a Spanish-language curriculum, available for purchase.(View Less)